Shingle grooving and splining machines



May 7, 1957 c. SMITH SHINGLE GROOVING AND SPLINING MACHINES Filed Aug. 13, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR- CHRISTIAN SMITH A T TORNE Y y 7, 1957 c. SMITH SHINGLE GROOVING AND SPLINING MACHINES Filed Aug. 13, 1954 2 Shee tsSheet 2 INVENTOR CHRISTIAN- SMITH fwd/ d ATTORNEY 2,791,249 SHINGLE GRGOVING A sn SPLINING M1? My invention relates to improvements in shingle grooving and splining machines.

The objects of the invention are to provide means whereby a plurality of shingles or relatively small pieces of wood may be laid in edge to edge relation and provided with one or more transverse grooves and for inserting into the groove so formed a spline for the purpose of binding the several pieces into a panel or a unit of a predetermined size. A further object is to provide that the spline shall be advanced into the groove during the formation of the groove.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the shingle carriage, taken on the line 2-2 of Figure l.

I Figure 3 is a part plan view of the carriage showing the hold down arm structure. I

Figure 4 is an elevational detail view of the spline supporting bed. 7

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is an elevational view of the grab for loading the spline supporting bed.

Figure 7 is a detail sectional view of the spline guide mounted 'on the carriage taken on the line 7'7 of Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic view of the drive for the machine.

Figure 9 is a sectional View of the spline groove cut by the machine.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

The numeral 1 indicates generally a horizontal frame having longitudinal members 2 and transverse members 3 and 4, which frame is suitably supported on legs not shown. Rails 6, see Figures 1 and 2, extend along the longitudinal members 2 and a shingle carriage 8 having Wheels 9 is adapted for enclwise movement thereon.

Mounted below the frame is a drive motor ltl having a drive pulley 12 which is belt connected to a countershaft 14 mounted on a swinging arm 15. The countershaft is fitted with a friction pulley 16 which drives either one of two concentric rims 18 or 19, both of which are coupled to a cable drum 20 shown .in dotted line in Figure 8.

A cable 22 is trained over sheaves 23 mounted in a vertical plane adjacent the front of the frame and said cable is anchored to the shingle carriage 8 to move it longitudinally of the rails.

The friction pulley is connected by a suitable linkage 24 which 'is provided with an operating lever 25, by which the friction pulley 16 is caused to selectively engage the small rim 1% to advance the carriage to the right of Figure 1, or to engage the large rim 19 to return said carriage to the starting point.

A shelf 28 is supported below the frame 1 and on said shelf grooving elements 29 are mounted. These eleatenr raised position, as shown.

2,791,249 5g Patented May 7, 1957 2 ments consist of two motor driven circular saws 30, each set to cut at an angle, to wit: ninety degrees to each other and to cut kerfs on the under face of shingles 31 placed upon the carriage 8 and also a rotary router 33 driven by a motor 34 to clean out the wood between the ke'rfs cut by the saws. The cut or groove 35 is as shown in Figure 9 and is adapted to receive a spline 36 carried upon an elongated spline bed 38 extending between transverse frame members 3 and 4. Gaps 39 are provided along the spline bed which will be referred to later.

The shingle carriage 8 is provided with shingle supporting plates 49 and 41 which are spaced apart to de fine a gap 43 into which the grooving elements 29 project as the carriage passes over them, and supported upon the front of said carriage is a horizontally disposed bell crank 44. The bell crank 44' is provided with a forwardly projecting leg 45 and a normally longitudinally projecting leg 46, which latter normally engages the butts of a unit of shingles 31, as shown in Figure l. The leg 45 is connected by a non-tensioned coil spring 48 to a rocking lever 4-9 mounted on thefront of the carriage with its operating end projecting forwardly thereof. At the ends of the carriage and at its rear edge a pair of brackets 51 is provided to each of which levers 52 and 53 are swingingly mounted. A short link 54 connects the outer end of the lever 53 to the lever 52 at a point somewhat below the end of said lever 52. The levers 53 are coupled together by a cross bar 55 and are resiliently anchored by springs 56, one only shown, to a pair of uprights 57. Rockingly mounted between the free ends of the levers 52 is a clamping member 61) havinga cushioned surface 61. The clamping member rocks about a pair of pins 63, one only shown, which is to the rear of the axis of said member. Said member is provided with other pins 64 located forward of the pins '63 and adapted to engage a pair of stops 66 having horizontal slots 6'7, which stops are mounted on the end edges of the carriage. The lower side of each slot 67 projects beyond the upper side to form a landing 68 for the pins 64, so that when the member is forced downwardly onto the shingles upon the carriage the member will rock in a clockwise direction, as in Figure 2, to urge the butts of the shingles against a stop 69 which extends longitudinally of said carriage. A handle 71 is fitted on the upper side of the clamping member to draw it downwardly into engaging position.

Fitted upon the cross bar 55, which is preferably of channel shape in cross section, is a swinging latch arm 72 having saw tooth notches 73 adjacent its free end which are adapted to engage a stop 74 fitted to the end of the handle 71. The latch arm is fulcrumed upon a pin 75 carried by a cross bar 76 extending between the levers 52, as shown in Figure 3. The inner end of the latch arm is connected to a spring tensioned push rod 77 which is slidably mounted in the channel of the cross bar 55 and extends beyond the leading edge of the carriage 8. The push rod is .provided with a bumper 78 which is adapted, as the carriage reaches the end of its spline fitting stroke, to hit a stop 79 which is disposed at one end of the longitudinal frame 2, to release the latch arm 72 from the stop 74 and allow the springs 56 to release the clamping member from the shingles on the carriage.

Mounted upon the leading edge of the carriage is a spline guide 82, see Figure 7, which consists of a rocking arm 83 fulcrumed on a pin 34. The arm is downwardly extended at one end to carry a roller 85 and is provided at its inner end with an inverted die 86 having a slot 8i which conforms to the transverse section of the splines 36 and the slot cut in the underside of the shingles. A spring 88 is provided to keep the die 86 in normal or A cam rail 90 is provided below the front longitudinal frame member 2 onto which the roller 85 is adapted to move to lower the die to register with the groove 35 and with a spline upon the spline support 38, so as to guide said spline into said groove. The spline bed or support 38 is an angle iron with one of its webs set horizontally as in Figures 4 and to support a spline intermediate the length of said bed. A pair of spline guides 93 is carried by a leaf spring 94 which is secured beneath the horizontal web of the bed as shown in Figure 4. Each spline guide has vertical movement in one of the gaps 39 and has side wings 95 which are rounded as at 96. The side wings project above the bed and engage the side edges of the splines to prevent sidewise movement of said splines upon the bed. Fitted adjacent the outer end of the spline support bed 38 is a rockingly mounted back stop 99 having a normally vertical face 100 which abuts the end of a spline to hold it against thrust of the work carried by the carriage 8. This back stop is provided with an arm 101 which is normally supported in the position shown by a lever 102. The lever 102 is resiliently held in substantially vertical position by a tension spring 103 and is adapted to be moved to the dotted line position by a cranked arm 105 upon a transverse shaft 106 which in turn is actuated by an upstanding lever 108 secured to the shaft. The lever 108 is fitted with an adjustable bolt 109 which is adapted to be engaged by the carriage as it reaches the end of its spline fitting stroke to move the lever 102 to the dotted line position shown in Figure 4 and permit the back stop 99 to drop below the support bed 38 to permit a further spline to be drawn endwise onto said spline support bed. A vertical stop 111 projects above the frame 1 adjacent the end of the cam rail 90 and is adapted to be engaged by the free end of the lever 49 on the carriage 8 immediately before the release of the clamping member 61, thus tensioning the spring 48 and causing the bell crank 44 to discharge the spline connected shingle unit transversely from the carriage.

A spline hopper 114 of any appropriate type is mounted outside the machine and in alignment with the spline support bed 38, which hopper is designed to present its topmost spline in the plane of said bed. In order to deliver progressively splines from the hopper to the spline support bed, an arm 116 of spring material is secured to an end of the carriage 8 having on its under side a roller 117 which rides along on the splines on the bed to keep them flat thereon. The outer end of the arm is downwardly bent as at 118 and at its end an eccentric dog 120 is rockingly mounted and is provided with a stop 121 to limit its anti-clockwise movement. This dog is toothed or otherwise roughened at the point of its greatest diameter as at 123, so that when it has slidingly moved beyond the end of the frame and into a spline in the hopper, the carriage commences to return to starting position the serrated portion of the dog 120 will engage the spline and withdraw it from the hopper and beyond the back stop 99 onto the spline support bed 38. Obviously as the carriage recedes the lever 108 will return to vertical position as shown and as soon as the back stop is relieved of the weight of the spline and the pressure of the spring 118, said back stop will rise above the spline support bed and prevent said spline from rearward movement due to thrust of the carriage on its next working stroke.

In operation, with the clamping member 60 in raised position as shown in Figure 2, shingles are placed upon the carriage 8 with their butts in contact with the stop 69 and are brought into side by side contact with each other, the clamping member is then brought down onto the face of the work and held by the pins 64 engaging the stops 66, the latch arm 72 becomes engaged with the stop 74, thus preventing the levers 52 and 53 from lifting from horizontal position. The operating lever 25, Figure 8, is moved to the right, thus setting the transmission to move the carriage to the right. During this movement the eccentric dog 120 will rock and slide along the spline 36 on the bed 38 and the roller 117 which is normally disposed just beyond the router 33 will ride along said spline. As the carriage moves to the right of Figure l, the grooving elements 29 will cut the dovetail groove 35 across the underside of the shingles 31 and as soon as the router has entered the wood the die 86 will descend into register with said groove and also into register with the left end of the spline, so that as the shingles advance the spline will be accurately led into said groove. As the die passes progressively over the spline support guides 93 it will depress them and the shingles will keep them depressed. When the carriage reaches the end of its stroke, the eccentric dog will have moved beyond the end of the machine to engage another spline in the hopper 114 and the spline back stop 99 will drop below the bed 38, the push rod 77 will have been moved relative to the carriage 8 to rock the latch arm and release the clamping member from the face of the shingle unit and the rocking lever 49 will have been moved to tension the spring 48 to cause the bell crank to project the finished shingle unit from the carriage. A reversal of the operating lever 25 will cause the carriage to be quickly returned to starting point in position for immediate reloading.

What I claim is:

l. A device for connecting shingles in edge to edge relation by means of a spline, said device comprising an endwise movable carriage, means for holding down a plurality of shingles upon the carriage, grooving elements and a spline support mounted in the path of the carriage, said carriage having a longitudinally extending stop against which the butt ends of shingles are adapted to be placed, said shingle holding means having a clamping member mounted on swinging arms from a part of the carriage, means for imparting a rocking motion to the clamping member as it is brought into engagement with the shingles to force said shingles against the longitudinally extending stop, and means for locking the clamping member in holding down position.

2. A device for connecting shingles in edge to edge relation by means of a spline as claimed in claim 1, and means operable as the carriage has traversed the spline support for releasing the holding down means to discharge the shingles from the carriage.

3. A device for connecting shingles in edge to edge relation by means of a spline, said device comprising an endwise movable carriage, means for holding down a plurality of shingles upon the carriage, grooving elements and a spline support mounted in the path of the carriage, said carriage having a longitudinally extending stop against which the butt ends of shingles are adapted to be placed, said shingle holding means having a clamping member mounted on swinging arms from a part of the carriage, means for imparting a rocking motion to the clamping member as it is brought into engagement with the shingles to force said shingles against the longitudinally extending stop, and means for locking the clamping member in holding down position, said clamping memher being pivotally mounted at the free ends of the arms and fitted with pins at its outer ends and a pair of members on the carriage, said members having slots adapted to receive the pins when the clamping member is fully depressed.

4. A device for connecting shingles in edge to edge 7 relation by means of a spline as claimed in claim 3, and

upon the support and a retractable back stop adjacent the outer end of the support to hold the spline against thrust from the shingles on the carriage.

6 A device for connecting shingles in edge to edge relation by means of a spline as claimed in claim 5, and means in advance of the carriage adapted to bear down upon the spline as the grooved shingles advance along said spline.

7. A device for connecting shingles in edge to edge relation by means of a spline, said device comprising a track, a shingle supporting carriage endwise movable upon the track, cutting elements supported in the path of the carriage to cut a groove transversely of the shingles upon the carriage, a spline support mounted in alignment with the cutting elements, said support having side members to hold the spline against sidewise movement upon the support and a retractable back stop adjacent the outer end of the support to hold the spline against thrust from the shingles on the carriage, said back stop being adapted to be retracted out of the line of the spline as the carriage completes its forward movement to cause the shingles to completely receive a spline within the groove, and means as the carriage returns for replacing the back stop in normal position.

8. A device for connecting shingles in edge to edge relation by means of a spline, said device comprising a track, a shingle supporting carriage endwi-se movable upon the track, cutting elements supported in the path of the carriage to cut a groove transversely of the shingles upon the carriage, a spline support mounted in alignment with the cutting elements, said support having side members to hold the spline against sidewise movement upon the support, said carriage having a die adapted to he brought into register with the groove as said carriage approaches an end of the spline to receive said spline and hold it against displacement as the grooved shingles advance along said spline.

9. A device for connecting shingles in edge to edge relation by means of a spline as claimed in claim 5, said side members upon the spline suppoit being spring loaded and adapted to be lowered below the level of the spline support and said die being adapted to engage said side members to depress them.

10. A device for connecting shingles in edge to edge relation by means of a spline, said device comprising a track, a shingle supporting carriage endwise movable upon the track, cutting elements supported in the path of the carriage to cut a groove transversely of the shingles upon the carriage, a spline support mounted in alignment with the cutting elements, said support having side members to hold the spline against sidewise movement upon the support and a retractable back stop adjacent the outer end of the support to hold the spline against thrust from the shingles on the carriage, means in advance of the carriage adapted to bear down upon the spline as the grooved shingles advance along said spline, said bearing down means being a resiliently mounted eccentric dog.

11. A device for connecting shingles in edge to edge relation by means of a spline as claimed in claim 10, wherein said dog is rockingly mounted and is provided with a rounded portion adapted for sliding movement upon a spline as the carriage moves in one direction and a serrated portion adapted for gripping engagement with a spline as the carriage moves in the opposite direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 707,116 Johnson Aug. 19, 1902 1,471,246 Daniels Oct. 16, 1923 2,038,000 Parker Apr. 21, 1936 2,085,235 Tautz June 29, 1937 2,346,039 Montague Apr. 4, 1944 

